2 in a row
editions of this contest
Q CARTEL won here last time out too — 2 straight editions of this contest.
- 2025
- 2026
Small Town Smoke Down
2026-05-30 – 2026-05-31 · Bassano, AB · CANADA · 📍 622 2 Ave
Reps: BUNNY TUTTLE, RICH TUTTLE
Grand Champion: Q CARTEL (706.2856) · 24 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 BIGG SMOAK BBQ
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
619.34
median 673.31
706.29 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.56
- Pork Ribs 176.56
- Pork 178.86
- Brisket 179.44
139.36
179.44
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2023 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
24
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
706.2856
Winning margin
2.8796
GC over RC
Field average
668.74
619.34706.29
median 673.31 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
1.7144 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
677.0860
619.34706.29
10th place overall
Field spread
86.9484
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 10%
beats 90% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
52%
13 of 25 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.67 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1532
avg power rating going in · stronger than 24% of contests
Storylines (6 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
Back-to-back
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 4 tracked editions
Q Cartel has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
- 2025
- 2026
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 13 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: Q Cartel and BIGG SMOAK BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 1–2: BIGG SMOAK BBQ and Q Cartel tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 8–9: Bad to the Brisket edged Slam Dunk BBQ by 0.0112.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Pork 1–2 · tie
- Brisket 8–9 · 0.0112
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Q Cartel took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 5th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 2nd
Back to defend
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-03 | Bassano, AB | 610 2 Ave | 23 | 711.4400 | Prairie Smoke & Spice BBQ | Hunny and Hooch BBQ |
| 2024-06-08 | Bassano, AB | 610 2 Ave | 27 | 699.4284 | SmellaQue | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ |
| 2025-05-31 | Bassano, AB | 622 2 Ave | 25 | 704.5600 | Q Cartel | BIGG SMOAK BBQ |
| 2026-05-30 ← this one | Bassano, AB | 622 2 Ave | 24 | 706.2856 | Q CARTEL | BIGG SMOAK BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5600 | 174.2628 | 169.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5600 | 174.8456 | 172.5716 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 175.4400 | 173.1544 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 168.5828 | 163.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
24 entries · top 706.2856 · median 673.3084
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Q Cartel | |
| 2 | BIGG SMOAK BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 4 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 5 | EFFIN'EH GRAY'S | |
| 6 | Shane Edd's BBQ | |
| 7 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 8 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 9 | ROKER Q | |
| 10 | Slam Dunk BBQ | |
| 11 | Panther BBQ | |
| 12 | DIDY SMOKE IT | |
| 13 | Syndicate BBQ | |
| 14 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 15 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 16 | Bottle Hill BBQ | |
| 17 | Smoke Trails BBQ | |
| 18 | Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery | |
| 19 | ELBOW GREASE | |
| 20 | Mc Que It | |
| 21 | Rollin Smoke Barbecue 2023 | |
| 22 | SOUTHPAW BBQ | |
| 23 | Rack Addicts BBQ Team | |
| 24 | At the Train Station |
Chicken
24 entries · top 176.5600 · median 168.8400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Q Cartel | |
| 2 | BIGG SMOAK BBQ | |
| 3 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 4 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 5 | ROKER Q | |
| 6 | EFFIN'EH GRAY'S | |
| 7 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 8 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 9 | Slam Dunk BBQ | |
| 10 | Shane Edd's BBQ | |
| 11 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 12 | At the Train Station | |
| 13 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 14 | DIDY SMOKE IT | |
| 15 | Panther BBQ | |
| 16 | Mc Que It | |
| 17 | Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery | |
| 18 | Smoke Trails BBQ | |
| 19 | SOUTHPAW BBQ | |
| 20 | Rack Addicts BBQ Team | |
| 21 | Bottle Hill BBQ | |
| 22 | ELBOW GREASE | |
| 23 | Syndicate BBQ | |
| 24 | Rollin Smoke Barbecue 2023 |
Pork Ribs
24 entries · top 176.5600 · median 171.1428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rollin Smoke Barbecue 2023 | |
| 2 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 3 | Bottle Hill BBQ | |
| 4 | Shane Edd's BBQ | |
| 5 | Q Cartel | |
| 6 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 7 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 8 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 9 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 10 | BIGG SMOAK BBQ | |
| 11 | Syndicate BBQ | |
| 12 | EFFIN'EH GRAY'S | |
| 13 | Smoke Trails BBQ | |
| 14 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 15 | DIDY SMOKE IT | |
| 16 | Slam Dunk BBQ | |
| 17 | ROKER Q | |
| 18 | Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery | |
| 19 | Panther BBQ | |
| 20 | ELBOW GREASE | |
| 21 | Mc Que It | |
| 22 | Rack Addicts BBQ Team | |
| 23 | SOUTHPAW BBQ | |
| 24 | At the Train Station |
Pork
24 entries · top 178.8572 · median 171.7258
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIGG SMOAK BBQ | |
| 2 | Q Cartel | |
| 3 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 4 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 5 | Shane Edd's BBQ | |
| 6 | ROKER Q | |
| 7 | EFFIN'EH GRAY'S | |
| 8 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 9 | Panther BBQ | |
| 10 | Smoke Trails BBQ | |
| 11 | DIDY SMOKE IT | |
| 12 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 13 | ELBOW GREASE | |
| 14 | Syndicate BBQ | |
| 15 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 16 | Slam Dunk BBQ | |
| 17 | Bottle Hill BBQ | |
| 18 | SOUTHPAW BBQ | |
| 19 | Mc Que It | |
| 20 | Rollin Smoke Barbecue 2023 | |
| 21 | Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery | |
| 22 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 23 | At the Train Station | |
| 24 | Rack Addicts BBQ Team |
Brisket
24 entries · top 179.4400 · median 161.7030
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 2 | Q Cartel | |
| 3 | BIGG SMOAK BBQ | |
| 4 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 5 | Panther BBQ | |
| 6 | EFFIN'EH GRAY'S | |
| 7 | Syndicate BBQ | |
| 8 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 9 | Slam Dunk BBQ | |
| 10 | DIDY SMOKE IT | |
| 11 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 12 | Rack Addicts BBQ Team | |
| 13 | Shane Edd's BBQ | |
| 14 | ROKER Q | |
| 15 | Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery | |
| 16 | ELBOW GREASE | |
| 17 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 18 | Mc Que It | |
| 19 | Bottle Hill BBQ | |
| 20 | Smoke Trails BBQ | |
| 21 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 22 | At the Train Station | |
| 23 | SOUTHPAW BBQ | |
| 24 | Rollin Smoke Barbecue 2023 |
Ancillary categories
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
Ancillary — Amateur Steak
3 entries · top 169.7372 · median 158.2516
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BURN IT DOWN | |
| 2 | SMITH & SIZZLE | |
| 3 | BULLIN CONSTRUCTION |
Kids-Q — Kids Que
11 entries · top 180.0000 · median 172.5484 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PEW PEW BBQ | |
| 2 | RYRY THE BBQ KID | |
| 3 | STEAK MASTER | |
| 4 | SPIT FIRE | |
| 5 | SMOKE IT OUT | |
| 6 | CHICKEN BUTT | |
| 7 | THE HOT DAWGS | |
| 8 | GLITTER AND GRILL | |
| 9 | THE FURY MEATS | |
| 10 | TEAM SLICK | |
| 11 | I DON'T KNOW HOW TO COOK |
Ancillary — Pro Steak
14 entries · top 180.0000 · median 170.8400 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DIDY SMOKE IT | |
| 2 | Bottle Hill BBQ | |
| 3 | EFFIN'EH GRAY'S | |
| 4 | Slam Dunk BBQ | |
| 5 | Shane Edd's BBQ | |
| 6 | ROKER Q | |
| 7 | ELBOW GREASE | |
| 8 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 9 | Mc Que It | |
| 10 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 11 | At the Train Station | |
| 12 | Rollin Smoke Barbecue 2023 | |
| 13 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 14 | Bad to the Brisket |